The effort has attracted a fresh wave of businesses to reinforce the legacy of Filipinos in the community. In 2024, The Sarap Shop—a lauded food truck—opened its inaugural storefront and entrepreneurial incubator on Stillman Street. Led by Kristen Brillantes and JP Reyes, in partnership with Danganan’s Kultivate Labs, they represent the newest generation of San Francisco’s gourmandry. Here, bottles of plant-based Halo Halo milk tea (inspired by the classic Filipino dessert of ice cream, ube jam, sweet beans, coconut, pinipig, and more) and original dishes like lechon sisig carbonara mac (tamarind-kissed pork belly, longanisa bacon bits, and shaved parmesan over elbow macaroni and creamy carbonara sauce) are worth the hype. Rotating fusions like an adobo pita sandwich, with slow-braised pork chunks layered beneath fried okra, pickled veggies, French fries and garlic sauce, round out the imaginatively playful menu.
Having also arrived in recent years, Mestiza—a Mexican Filipino hotspot dishing out 13-inch vegan lumpia and group-sized kamayan feasts in a verdant back patio—is within short walking distance. If you’re looking for an upscale experience, Ox & Tiger awaits, a speakeasy-esque Filipino Japanese hideaway that only accepts reservations on weekends, and is tucked inside a narrow, izakaya-style sit down north of Market Street. The four-course pre-fixe meals feature innovative Filipino and Japanese plates and desserts that can be paired with a sake tasting: cured salmon topped with pickled ampalaya (bitter melon), sitaw (string beans), and salmon skin chicharon. There’s also Abacá along Fisherman’s Wharf, a contemporary Filipino darling known for its meaty skewers and chorizo-stuffed squid relleno. Anchoring it all is Señor Sisig, largely credited as the originator of Filipino fusion street food in the Bay Area when it launched in 2010, having since expanded to multiple locations since—all of which are beloved for their Mission-style pork adobo burritos and sweet and sour sinigang wings.
